The BOBBi trial (Better Outcomes in Babies with Bacterial meningitis) is a major UK and international research study looking at whether giving steroids to very young babies with suspected bacterial meningitis can improve their chances of surviving without long‑term harm.
Group B Strep is the most common cause of bacterial meningitis in babies under three months old in the UK. In the UK, around 350 babies develop bacterial meningitis each year. Bacterial meningitis in babies is rare, but can be devastating. Even with fast treatment, around 1 in 20 babies die, and around 1 in 3 survivors are left with long‑term effects such as hearing loss, learning difficulties or physical disability
What is the BOBBi Trial?
In older children with bacterial meningitis, giving steroids alongside antibiotics is known to reduce some of the long‑term damage caused by inflammation. However, we do not yet know whether steroids help babies under three months old.
The BOBBi trial aims to answer that question.
Led by City St George’s, University of London, and run by the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit (NPEU) at the University of Oxford, the trial is funded by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme.
The study plans to recruit around 965 babies across about 60 hospitals in the UK, with additional sites in Canada. Babies who are thought to have bacterial meningitis are randomly allocated to one of two groups:
- one group receives standard care plus a short course of steroids (dexamethasone)
- the other group receives standard care without steroids
Because meningitis is a medical emergency, treatment starts immediately. Parents are then given full information and asked whether they are happy for their baby to remain in the study. Babies are followed up until they are two years old to understand longer‑term outcomes for health and development.
GBSS’s involvement in the BOBBi trial
Group B Strep Support (GBSS) is closely involved in the BOBBi trial to ensure that the voices and experiences of families affected by GBS and meningitis are central to the research.
GBSS is a co‑applicant charity partner on the trial. Our role includes:
- helping shape the design of the study, particularly around consent and family communication
- co‑producing parent‑facing information, including written, digital and video materials
- supporting and helping to recruit members of the Parent Advisory Group
- reviewing trial documents to ensure they are clear, sensitive and genuinely understandable
- bringing the lived experience of families affected by GBS meningitis into trial discussions and decision‑making
This reflects GBSS’s long‑standing commitment to research that is family‑centred, ethical and grounded in real experience, as well as our wider work to prevent GBS infection and improve outcomes for babies and families
Why this research matters
If the BOBBi trial shows that steroids improve outcomes for babies with bacterial meningitis, including those affected by group B Strep, it could lead to changes in national and international treatment guidelines.
For families affected by GBS meningitis, this research is about more than treatment. It is about reducing death, preventing lifelong disability, and making sure that research is done with families, not to them.
For more information
BOBBi trial overview (NPEU Oxford): https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/bobbi
BOBBi trial information for parents: https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/bobbi/parents
We will be sending people updates as the trial progresses. Sign up here – or get in touch with us at info@gbss.org.uk if you need any information.
